Even the recap episodes are amazing! I was pretty confused when the episode started out with a flashback story centered around how Chihaya's sister stole her new year's money, but my questions were quickly answered when we went straight from there into a recap. As a result, I don't have much to saw about this episode, but it's still a must-watch if you're in love with the characters (and if you've watched this far, I think it's fair to say that you probably are). Recap episodes are highly dreaded and I'm no fan of them myself, but every once in while you get a show that does something a little different with its recap so that it's not entirely rehashed material. The best example I can think of are the recap episodes from Revolutionary Girl Utena, one of which contained a major plot point. Fortunately, nothing that crazy happens in this episode, but the little skits that happen in-between the recaps are for the most part hilarious. Judging by the structure and the way they were numbered, I'm assuming that these were based on bonus 4-koma from the collected manga volumes. There's a lot of on-screen text, but the results are hysterical, from finding out where Nishida's shirts come from to Kana being unanimously declared the most datable in the karuta club. Probably the most interesting moment happened at the beginning episode, when we find out that Chihaya is responsible for inspiring her sister to become a model. I thought that the lighting was an interesting choice, with Chihaya shinning and her sister just looking on. I guess that they aren't so different after all...at least when it comes to latching onto dreams. Overall, it was a fun diversion and a nice break before the final? next story arc. Additional Screenshots                                                   Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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